A MAN who spent eight years in prison before being cleared of murdering TV presenter Jill Dando has seen his claim for compensation turned down by judges.Barry George, 52, was convicted in 2001 of killing the 37-year-old presenter, who grew up in Weston-super-Mare. She was shot dead outside her home in Fulham, west London, in April 1999.But the conviction was quashed in 2007 after a key piece of prosecution evidence, a speck of firearms residue found on Mr George's coat after he was arrested more than a year after the incident, was found to be unreliable. A judge accepted arguments that it was no more likely to have come from a gun fired by Mr George as from any other source.A retrial was held in 2008 and Mr George was found not guilty of murder.The BBC reported today that, although Mr George had been cleared of the charge, his conviction at the first murder trial could not be deemed a miscarriage of justice.Referring to a Supreme Court ruling in 2011 which established a test for compensation to be paid, High Court judges Lord Justice Beatson and Mr Justice Irwin said that there was "a case upon which a reasonable jury properly directed could have convicted the claimant of murder".Afterwards Mr George's legal team said they would seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.Ms Dando was educated at Mendip Green Infant School, St Martin's Junior School, Worle Comprehensive School and Broadoak Sixth Form Centre in Weston. Her first reporting job was on the Weston Mercury.